How Barriers Can Reduce the Accident Rate in Your Warehouse

Accidents happen. It’s just a part of life. But when it comes to business, there are steps and measures to avoid costly accidents. Warehouse accidents can put a business majorly out-of-pocket. Compensation pay, equipment downtime and loss of productivity can have severe effects on a business budget.

Accidents take place when complacency creeps into the workplace. This is why security checks are paramount to warehouse equipment and safety measures.

In this blog, we highlight the importance of having adequate safety barriers in your warehouse…

How To Avoid Costly Warehouse Accidents

Over-confident employees who neglect security protocol can cause serious damage in a warehouse. Another top cause of warehouse accidents is a simple lack of safety education. With a lack of safety education, a warehouse will fail to perform to its full potential. Ultimately, this can pose a serious safety risk for all employees.

To avoid the downtime, costs, and injury caused by an accident, adequate training is imperative. Refresher training is of priority in a warehouse, especially for all long-time employees. This is important to drive home maintenance safety protocol. Some businesses choose to de-prioritise safety training as it may affect business productivity. But this could lead to dire consequences. Setting aside half a day for safety training for both new and long-time employees can make all the difference.

The Benefits of Warehouse Safety Barriers

Establishing adequate safety boundaries is the next step to preventing unnecessary warehouse accidents. Safety barriers play a huge role in ensuring both employees and onsite visitors stay out of harm’s way in any warehouse.

1. They Define Designated Areas For Heavy Machinery

Safety barriers are a great way to demarcate where both heavy equipment and moving machinery should be at all times in a warehouse. These safety barriers clearly define the pathways all moving equipment is assigned and should adhere to. This, in turn, ensures they pose no risk to working employees or visitors, with limited risk of warehouse accidents.

2. They Separate People and Moving Machinery

Most warehouses will include separate lanes for pedestrian traffic and moving machinery. This is a standard health and safety requirement for most businesses which deal with heavy equipment. But there are certain cases where these laneways are shared. In this instance, this is where safety barriers play a huge role in minimising accidents.

Where possible, shared laneways must be avoided in order to prevent excess cross-traffic. If shared laneways are absolutely necessary, traffic lights must be used to separate people and moving machinery.

3. They Increase Staff and Visitor Awareness

It’s only natural that staff awareness may diminish throughout the day as fatigue and complacency sets in. This is where safety barriers are important. They serve as a constant reminder of your surroundings and that moving machinery is operating in a specific area. Safety barriers are a visual cue to employees to habitually check their surroundings. This way they can ensure they are using the correct laneways and out of harm’s way.

4. They Increase Protection of Your Equipment

A safety barrier provides a visual cue for both pedestrians and operators of moving machinery. Essentially, they serve as protection of your warehouse equipment. Drivers of heavy machinery face a number of hazards to avoid throughout the day. Safety barriers assist in maneuvering through these designated areas.

Out-dated steel safety barriers have become a no-go in most warehouses today. Known to cause more harm than good, they tend to cause injury and damage to the vehicles they come in to contact with. This is where modular safety barriers come in, protecting your moving machinery from further damage.

5. It’s Health and Safety Policy

In order to run an efficient warehouse, safety barriers must be in place as part of your health and safety policy. A registered business will be periodically assessed for the health and safety policy compliance. You could receive a hefty fine if health and safety protocol is not up-to-scratch. Installing adequate safety barriers throughout your warehouse could ultimately save your business!

The Best Safety Barriers to Use

The best policy to use when it comes to installing safety barriers in your warehouse is to focus on visibility and high-quality materials. A safety barrier must be highly visible from all angles throughout your warehouse. Using a bright, noticeable colour is highly recommended. Safety barriers are vibrant yellow in colour to ensure they stand out and are distinctly noticed from far distances. Scratches, dents and other damage to a brightly coloured safety barrier can be noticed and repaired immediately.

When it comes to the materials used for your safety barriers, steer clear of using steel or concrete barriers. These materials tend to actually do more damage than good to your moving machinery, vehicles, drivers, and pedestrians. Polymer-based materials are preferred because they absorb the impact. To add to this, they also spring back into regular shape after a collision.

Steel or concrete barriers crumple upon collision and often need to be completely replaced. Ultimately, this only incurs even more costs as part of the accident. This shows that polymer-based safety barriers have two fundamental purposes:

They are more efficient at handling a collision

They are a far more economical option for warehouse safety

Polymer-based materials have become highly popular in the manufacturing of safety barriers today. This material allows for maximum protection and minimal damage. Ultimately, a warehouse with moving machinery can be a dangerous place. Don’t take the risk of falling behind on safety measures and protocol.

At the end of the day, driving home the importance of warehouse safety could save you thousands of dollars and hours of productivity!

Secure Your Business With Verge Safety Barriers

Verge Safety Barriers is focused on offering a top-of-the-range safety product. Our surface mounted safety barriers and range of safety accessories are designed with the highest levels of safety in mind. We strive to create a sense of security, orderliness, and efficiency within your business, no matter the size or layout of your warehouse.

Looking for true professionals for your safety barrier installation? Look no further than Verge Safety Barriers.